Flue roller



May 10, 194.9. E. F. VlLTER FLUE ROLLER Filed Jan. 16, 1948 IIIIIIIIIII/l ATTORNEYS Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED STATE 5' OFFICE FLUE ROLLER Ernest F. Vilter, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application January 16, 1948, Serial No. 2,593

2 Claims.

This invention appertains to rolling in tools for tube and more particularly to a novel tool for expanding, rolling and belling boiler tubes.

In the rolling in of new boiler tubes, much difficulty been experienced in the proper belling or flaring of the outer ends of the tubes. After the tubes have been flared, another tool is utilized (usually an air hammer) to pean down or bend the flared part back against the tube or flue sheet. During the pounding operation for bending back the flared ends, there is a tendency for the tube to be forced into the boiler carrying the expanded part of the tube away from the inner face of the flue sheet. This is due to the fact that the flared end of the tube has not been given a suflicient angle by the rolling in tool to resist the pounding operation and to permit the hammer to strike the flared end properly to bend the same directly against the flue sheet.

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of my invention to provide a rolling in tool having novelly formed and shaped rollers, which will function not only to correctly expand the tube against the inner face of the flue sheet and force the tube flat and tight against the wall of the tube opening, but which will eifectively flare the tube end with a relatively steep angle, so that said flared end can easily be further bent or peaned back against the outer face of the flue sheet.

Another salient object of my invention is to provide a tube rolling in tool embodying novel rollers, each including a generally cylindrical body gradually tapering toward its inner end and having a tube expanding portion, a tube flaring portion and a connecting rolling in neck tapering in a reverse direction from the body and toward the flaring portion, so that said flaring portion is provided with a relatively steep flaring angle, and so that the extreme outer edge of the neck will be parallel to the wall of the tube opening in the boiler sheet and the center line of the expanding mandrel.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specific-ally described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved novel rolling in tool.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view through the tool showing the same in operative 2 position in a tube and boiler sheet, the tube being rolled in, expanded and flared.

Referring to the drawing in detail wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter T generally indicates my novel rolling in tool for the tubes of boilers.

In the drawing, only a fragment of a boiler 13 has been illustrated and as shown, the same includes a fine or tube sheet '5 having an opening 5 therein for a tube 1.

My improved tool T includes a substantially cylindrical cage 8 having an axial bore 9 therehrough. The cage is provided at appropriate points with slots it for receiving the rollers II. The outer ends of the rollers can carry pins [2, and a retaining ring it is slipped on the cage around the pins, so as to limit the outward movement of the rollers ii. If desired, the cage 8 can be provided with an annular right angularly extending stop shoulder l4 against which a tube end can initially fit when the tool is inserted in a tube. Also mounted upon the cage at its outer end is a stop collar 15 which is adapted to abut the flue sheet when the tool is in use The bore 9 of the cage receives the tapered mandrel i6, utilized for forcing the rollers ll outwardly. The mandrel It can be rotated and moved inwardly and outwardly in any preferred manner. As illustrated, the outer end of the mandrel is provided with a polygonal head I! to facilitate the turning thereof.

The rollers ii form the salient feature of my present invention, and each roller includes a generally cylindrical body H8. The body I8 is gradually tapered toward its outer end, and this taper is preferably the same as the taper of the mandrel I6. The body it of each roller includes the tube expanding portion IS, the tube flaring portion at and the connecting neck portion 2| utilized for rolling in the tube tight against the wall of the flue opening 6 in the boiler sheet.

The connecting neck portion is tapered in the opposite direction from the taper of the outside of the body Hi. In other words, the connecting neck portion 2! gradually tapers inward from the expanding portion l9 toward the tube flaring portion 20.

This particular construction of the roller is highly important, and by providing the reverse taper on the neck 2!, I am enabled to give a relatively steep angle on the tube flaring portion 20, as can be readily seen by referring to Figure 2. Likewise, by providing the reverse taper on the connecting rolling in neck 2|, the extreme outer-most surface of each roller rides parallel with the wall of a flue opening 8 and parallel with the center longitudinal axis of the tapered mandrel l6.

In use of my tool, the tube to be rolled in is placed in the boiler in the ordinary manner with its end extending through the flue sheet 5. The tool T is now placed in this end of the tube l with the inner end of the tapered mandrel positioned in the cage 8 so that the rollers l l will lie substantially within the cage. The tool is inserted in the tube until the tube abuts the stop shoulder I4 on the cage, at which time the collar IE will engage the boiler or flue sheet 5.

The mandrel l6 can now be rotated and gradually fed into the cage for urging the rollers H gradually outwardly. The rollers all move outwardly the same distance, and the angle of the rollers is constantly maintained. As the rollers are forced outwardly, the portions 19 thereof will expand the tube 1 as at 22, and the connecting necks 2| will roll the tube tight against the wall of the opening 6. The portion 28 will effectively flare the tube as indicated by the reference character 23 on a relatively steep angle. After the tube has been rolled in, as explained, the mandrel It can be withdrawn from the cage, so that the rollers can collapse into the cage. The cage with the rollers is now pulled from the tube.

As the flared part 23 of the tube 1 is on a relatively steep angle, the same can be readily and quickly peaned down against the outer face of the sheet without subjecting the tube to a direct thrust into the boiler. Hence, the correct placing of a tube in a boiler is assured.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of my invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. A rolling in tube for boiler tubes comprising a cage, rollers movable radially in said cage, a tapered mandrel slidably and rotatably associated with the cage for moving the rollers outwardly, each of said rollers including a generally cylindrical body gradually tapering from its outer end toward its inner end, and each body having a tube expanding portion, a tube flaring portion and a connecting rolling in neck, said neck being tapered in the opposite direction from the body and the mandrel, said mandrel also gradually tapering from its outer toward its inner end.

2. 'A rolling in tube for the tubes of boilers comprising a cage, rollers mounted in said cage for radial movement, a tapered mandrel rotatably and slidably fitted in said cage for forcing the rollers outwardly, each of said rollers including a generally cylindrical body gradually tapering from its outer end toward its inner end and on the same angle of taper as the mandrel, said mandrel also gradually tapering from its outer toward its inner end, each body including a tube expanding portion, a, spaced tube flaring portion and a connecting rolling in neck, said neck being reversely tapered from the body and the mandrel, the angle of the taper of the neck, body and mandrel being such that the extreme outer edges of the connecting necks will lie parallel with the longitudinal axial center of the tapered mandrel, whereby the tube flaring portion of each body will have a relatively steep angle in comparison to the neck, body and mandrel.

ERNEST F. VILTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 233,797 Perkins Oct. 26, 1880 301,130 Kollberg July 1, 1884 750,177 Faessler Jan. 19, 1904 1,362,935 Frentzel Dec. 21, 1920 2,215,949 Yochem Sept. 24, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,881 Switzerland Aug. 24, 1925 

